Avisala, E correi

Ada's Tears

A commotion is brewing inside a pub just outside the outskirts of Sapiro. Two large drunk men are engaged into a fist fight. Luck must be in his favor, Yue thought to himself. He's been waiting all day for the perfect time to strike and finally the two drunkard, who happened to be the town's biggest bullies spending all their time looting weak peasants, has finally engaged in a fist fight after throwing insults one after the other.

"Sigurado ka ba sa gagawin mo?" the little man asked his friend. Fear and anxiousness painted all over his little face.

" Ito na ang pagkakataong ating hinahantay Salim. Bantayan mo silang mabuti habang hinahalungkat ko ang kanilang mga gamit." said Yue with razor-sharp focus on the item his about to steal.

"Nahihibang ka na ba. Yan ang Duee Pashnea. Pagnahuli tayo paniguradong bangkay ka nang uuwi sa iyong mga magulang." said Salim, his hand in tight grip with Yue's collar. His eyes on his. Hope evident in his eyes. Hope that he can knock some senses to his bestfriend.

"Kapag hindi ko nakuha ang kaban nila ay wala na rin akong magulang na uuwian kaya pwede ba Salim huwag mo na akong kontrahin at nauubos na ang ating oras." Yue answered back. Renewing his focus, he muttered a silent prayer before going on with his plan.

If things have been any different, he wouldn't be where he is today. Arguing with his bestfriend, doing something his parents would never approve of. His old parents, though with nothing, raised him with values and integrity. Doing the right thing is always better than doing nothing, as they always say. What he's about to do now is definitely not the right thing no matter how many times he argued with himself. He always assure himself with thoughts that those two drunkards are thieves, he could do something meaningful with those money than them spending it all away in alcohol. Even though, nothing still feels right. If he's mother hadn't been sick for weeks now, if she doesn't need the care of an expensive expert, he wouldn't trade his integrity like this. But this seems to be the only way.

"Salim, agtu." he whispered and at once his friend poised as a look out.

Silently, he snuck to the crowd and upclose to the table where the commotion is brewing.

"Pashnea!" "Warka!" shouted the two men one punch after another. All eyes are on them making it so easy for Yue to snuck upclose, grab their loot bag and run as fast as he could away from the crowd, away from the pub. He could feel his adrenaline rising. He knows that no one is after him, and by the time he reached the nearby stream, those two pashneas probably haven't still realised what they lost. Still, he ran with all his might. Thinking that maybe if he could just getaway from that place as fast as he could , he wouldn't have to confront the fact that finally he was no better than those two fighting morons in the pub. Because like them, he has become a thief. The word even make him shudder. This would be the first and the only time he'll break his value. For his mother. The image of her smiling back at him, and her in pain plays repeatedly in his mind.
" Yue! agtu!" someone shouted from a far. It quickly brought him back to his senses.
"What was that all about?" he thought.
From afar he could see Salim running for dear life as two large, slightly groggy men, were after him.

"Pashnea!" he blurted.

They were caught. Now, he didn't only became a thief, he's also fighting for dear life. He mustered what's left of his strength and moved his feet as fast as he could. He couldn't think of any direction. Anywhere far would do just not home. Or they'll find out about his parents too. The Forest maybe, it's the one place he knows so well. So he pick up the path to the forest and prayed the darkness would swallow him whole, rendering him invisible to the eyes of his pursuant. But before he could even reach the forest, the two men has caught up with him.

" Akala mo ay maiisahan mo kami pashnea?!"
said the man after punching him and helding him facedown.

"Mabuti nalang at napansin mo agad ang pashneang yan bago pa nakalayo." said the other man, the larger brut, as he pick up their stolen bag from the ground.